Radicalism

For some of us, the best course of action when the going gets tough is to tuck our nose into a book. From the outside, this may look like a somewhat ostrich-like response but I’m here to say that, on the inside, it can be as bold as an act of radicalism.

Over the past few years, book banning has gained momentum in the United States. Last year Pen America, an organisation dedicated to the freedom to produce literature, reported that over 10,000 titles had been banned in public schools and libraries across the USA in 2023–2024.

Pen America says:

It is the books that have long fought for a place on the shelf that are being targeted. Books by authors of colour, by LGBTQ+ authors, by women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, history.

In a worrying turn from the new Trump administration, the Federal Department of Education has put an end to its investigations into book banning in public schools, calling book bans a ‘hoax’. This seems to fit well with the Trump administration’s conservative agenda, and the plans to gut the same department.

Meanwhile, the big five publishers in the United States – Penguin Random House (PRH), Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers and Simon & Schuster – have filed a joint lawsuit challenging book banning in public schools and libraries.

Much political change is afoot in the United States and the ramifications can be felt around the world.

I have no doubt that you’re aware of the flurry of executive orders and bold announcements that have come out of the White House since Trump’s inauguration on 20 January. For me, the most telling – and terrifying – of them all is the plan to ‘buy’ the Gaza Strip, as if it’s a piece of prime real estate that just needs a spruce up. The region and its two proud peoples, with their long, fractured and contentious history, deserve so much more than a price tag. Israelis and Palestinians deserve honour for their suffering, mourning for their losses and the potential to find a way to get along.

Alas, a two-state solution is not what Trump is seeking. He wants a new Riviera. He also wants Greenland and potentially Canada.

Often, his pronouncements beggar belief. Steve Bannon, briefly Trump’s chief strategist during his last term, suggested how the media could be weaponised against our incredulity: ‘flood the zone with shit’. His reasoning was that if our televisions, phones and web browsers are full of bluster and garbage, we might be distracted while the administration does pretty much anything it wants.

Fortunately, there are many people in the United States – in the media, in the government, in the law – who are working tirelessly to bear witness to what’s really going on. And that’s where my encouragement to tuck your nose into a book comes from.

If we choose what we read judiciously, we uphold intellectual freedom. There’s never been a more important time to seek the truth. When we read, and read widely – especially outside the silos of our social media feeds – we participate in vital conversation about the human condition. We shape our values and our choices. And we do that in partnership with others – whether they be writers, journalists, academics, students, activists, leaders, lawyers, historians, religious leaders, opinionated commentators and even influencers or humble bloggers. And when we share what we have learnt with our friends and family, we perpetuate our own seeking.

As you know, I live Down Under, where Trump’s influence on the political system is already taking effect. So, I’m taking my reading very seriously and am determined to bear witness to it all. But I’m not prepared to wade through the quagmire of shit. I’m not willing to give Trump and his antics my full attention, or my nervous energy, or those cortisol spikes that accompany my gasps of misbelief.

I’m particularly enamoured with journalist Jessica Yellin’s approach. In this podcast, she describes how we can tackle the news cycle with a calm nervous system and a witnessing mindset. I’ve signed up for her News Not Noise newsletter and it has become a trusted resource for me.

Yellin is connected with the We Can Do Hard Things podcast from Glennon Doyle, Amanda Doyle and Abby Wambach – another go-to of mine for honest, sane and trustworthy content about contemporary life.

Some of my other reading recommendations include:

• Orbital by Samantha Harvey – This is a beautifully paced novel that slowly works its way through 16 orbits of the International Space Station around the earth, delving into the human condition through the eyes of the astronauts on board. Harvey describes every corner of the globe, rendering its politics, conflicts and dramas as minutia while gently prompting us to ask the age-old question: Is there a god? To me, the narrative’s distance from the earth couldn’t come at a better time. The perspective Harvey offers serves to remind us of the earth’s beauty and our fleeting relationship with life itself, rendering politics almost meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Highly, highly recommend.
• Detachable Penis by Sam Elkin – beneath the hilarious title and cover of this book is a social and political imperative: we must support the work of transgender creatives. Elkin is an emerging writer but his social commentary already shines. In Detachable Penis, he honestly chronicles the trans experience in Australia, a topic that deserves our highest attention as we witness trans rights eroding in America.
• The Conversation – produced in collaboration between academics and journalists, The Conversation publishes news and analysis. Now with a global edition and with editions for Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, France, Indonesia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, it is an excellent source of rigorously researched and trustworthy news.

Are you participating in the radical act of reading during these trying times? Or perhaps just finding reading a solace? Let me know and also do send in your recommendations – I’m always open to building on my ‘to be read’ pile!

May you be safe, happy and well, wherever you are.